Lion Guardians

Selenkay’s pride which is now composed of ten lions is well known for being a livestock killing group. This is because they have killed livestock in almost every corner of their territory and have been hunted countless times in retaliation. Fortunately, we have succeeded in stopping all lion hunting party’s intent on killing them except for the politically motivated hunt that killed their sister Narika two years ago. However, over the last two months, as if sensing the tension and danger in the air as a result of the conflict in Amboseli, this pride has confounded many that know their reputation. They have not killed any livestock and thus managed to stay away from the limelight.

This is Loomuguri, son of Selenkay and Ndelie, eating meat.

Throughout this conflict period, they have only been hunted once by a group of morans but not in retaliation and fortunately, we were able to come to their rescue. Yesterday, we found them relaxing close to Amboseli Porini camp in Selenkay conservancy with visitors having a field day clicking their cameras. The pride looked absolutely healthy and the cubs seem to have grown bigger beyond their age.

Nempatipat is the daughter of Selenkay and Ndelie

Ndelie, the resident male lion was with them and he seems to have grown in confidence as opposed to his usual skittishness with the car. Lioness Elikan who likes to go solo when she stops weaning, was out hunting and left the motherly Selenkay to be constantly harassed by the playful cubs under the watchful eye of Ndelie. The good news is that their primary prey species are available in plenty owing to the proximity to watering points. This is ideal lion behavior especially in a politically poisoned environment and we pray that they abstain from livestock killing as we wait for a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

One of Selenkay’s cubs investigating the camera.

The on-going human-wildlife conflict in Amboseli moved a notch higher yesterday with a complete show of bravado never seen in the recent past. Monday in the middle of the night a lioness, Amyjane, had jumped into a boma adjacent to the park, killed a donkey and cow, and was speared in the front left leg. The morans responsible for the spearing wanted to follow her into the park, but were persuaded not to by elders and village leaders. The morans heeded their advice, but continued to monitor the movement of the lioness inside the park. The following morning we were called in to track and assess the situation of the lioness. She was deep inside a small thicket when we found her and it was clear that she was experiencing a lot of pain. She didn’t move when we drove close with the vehicle and she exhibited a lot of aggression which is unlike her normal behavior.

One of the last photos of Amyjane alive

Then as fate would have it, the veterinary officer that was supposed to treat her was summoned very early in the morning to attend to a rhino that had died due to a gun wound from poachers in the Chyulu Game Reserve. While awaiting the vet to arrive, we responded to another depredation report we received from Lion Guardian Jackson in a nearby zone.

During that time, a herder brought livestock inside the park for water very close to where Amyjane was hidden. When she saw the herder, she growled and the livestock scampered for safety, thus prompting the herder to summon the morans from the nearby cultural boma. They responded immediately and tracked the lion within 10 minutes and speared her ten times till she succumbed to death.

At this time we had just finished verifying Jackson’s report and were on our way back to check on Amyjane, with five Kenya Wildlife Service rangers we picked up on the way. As we were approaching the site where we last saw her (about 50 meters away) we found a lion paw freshly cut. We immediately started to fret, but we also thought that maybe it belonged to another lion that might have been killed earlier that morning.

Worried, we rushed to the site where we had last seen Amyjane just an hour ago, but she was nowhere to be seen! We immediately reached for the receiver to track her collar, but unfortunately after five minutes of searching we came up empty handed. At this time we returned with the KWS rangers to where the paw was found and started tracking the perpetrators foot prints. Using my traditional tracking skills we followed their fresh tracks for about five minutes until we reached Amyjane.

Her body was dismembered; specifically the torso was cut in half and placed 50 meters apart likely to conceal the killing. Her head and all of her paws were missing. This was proof that her killers were in a hurry to leave the site, accompanied by their intentions to sell the fresh trophies to the nearby tourists who visit the park. Interestingly, the tail which is the most important part of traditional lion killing celebrations was still intact: meaning that the killing was not traditionally motivated. It was a ghastly site to see, especially given the fact that we had just seen her alive a few hours ago. I was horrified and heart broken at the same time.

Amyjane’s dismembered body

After joining Amyjane’s torso to verify it was one lion that was killed we decided to follow the fresh tracks of the warriors, which led to the nearby cultural bomas. What was interesting is that the cultural boma, which is always a bee-hive of activities (especially during the high season), was so conspicuously silent that one could hear a pin drop!

Amyjane whose pride has known misfortune over the last few years is the latest victim. Her sister mysteriously died two years ago and left her the duty of bringing up nine small cubs. She successfully brought six of those cubs to maturity, while one was killed by an elephant.  Another was killed by a pair of resident male lions and the third was speared at the gate of the same cultural boma in which her mother’s killers live. Currently, she has three very small cubs whom she left with her companion, who also has three cubs of the same size. We hope that she will be able to bring up all six cubs, but it will be a very difficult feat.

Amyjane’s companion will have a difficult task in trying to raise all of the cubs to maturity. The cubs pictured here are from a litter she had in 2010.

During the past week in Olgulului Group Ranch, lions have gone on a rampage and killed three cows, three donkeys and seriously injured six cows, all resulting in three lion hunts. Lion Guardians managed to stop all the three lion hunting parties in the respective zones. This is due to our diplomatic and non-accusatory approach. But, unfortunately Amyjane was hunted inside the park (outside of our jurisdiction) where existing tensions between the community and KWS has lead to a decrease in tolerance.

Eric used his tracking skills to locate Amyjane’s body and track her killers to the nearby boma.

Currently, the situation in Amboseli is tense and the relationship between the community and KWS is at its lowest ebb and we fear for the future of the local wildlife. The previous conflict resolution meeting on Aug 6^th, failed to arrive at an amicable consensus between KWS and the Maasai community. The Maasai community gave KWS 21 days to respond to their petition requesting a fair distribution of the park revenue.  If the morans are bold enough to hunt in the park in broad daylight and kill a collared lioness now, I shiver to think of what will happen if the trust between the community and KWS is severed over revenue-sharing. The parks wildlife will not survive without communal support and Amboseli National Park will be no more than a glorified zoo!!

Hopefully KWS and the local Maasai community can come to an amicable agreement in order to stop more senseless killings like that of Amyjane.

Nimaoi is a favorite among the Lion Guardians

We have suspected Nimaoi to have had a new litter of cubs for sometime now. But every time we try to approach her to confirm our suspicion, we found her without any. Usually we found her with her older sub-adults. We had seen tracks of cubs several times, but actually confirming their existence by getting a visual of them was becoming quite difficult. In the afternoon, a few days ago, one of our Lion Guardians from Olbili, Mingati, gave us a direction of her signal and we went to verify. Upon meandering through several whistling thorns close to the lava, we found her with 2 male cubs, and her male and female sub-adults.

One of the cubs

They were all looking pretty and healthy. Nimaoi is one of our most likeable lionesses and we wish her good luck in bringing thes cubs to maturity.

It was a bright afternoon when we decided to follow up on a Lion Guardian’s report about Nemasi’s signal. After going through a very hard and stony area along the foot of Lemuna hill, and with the signal very clear, we saw a carcass of in the distance. At first, we thought it was an eland but as we got closer it was clear that it was a cow.

Eric checking for the brand and ear notches

Nemasi's first livestock kill

We were surprised because to the best of our knowledge Nemasi has never killed any livestock. In fact, this was her first! We found Lesoit, the male cub, guarding the carcass. He seemed to have been assigned that role with clear instructions not to allow any intruder anywhere near the carcass. It is a role he played admirably and with gusto! In fact, when we went to ascertain the brand, ear notches and sex of the cow, he practically charged us! He seems to have learned his role quickly given the fact that he is barely a year now.We found Nemasi and her two female cubs resting under a tree taking refuge from the hot sun.

Lesoit was not happy that "intruders" were near his meal

On our way to the bomas nearby, to give the report of the dead cow, we found a male and female cheetah that seemed to be doing ‘reproductive work’. These two cheetahs seemed to have been the only witnesses to the kill, as the herders were clearly nowhere to be seen. The two were so vigil over the presence of lions nearby that they couldn’t have cared less when we approached them closely.

These two cheetah were found near the kill

After our female lion Nosioki and her female cub were poisoned in Osewan in Matapato outside our jurisdiction, we thought that was the end for this pride. The white poisonous substance obtained from Tanzania that was used is so lethal; we thought nothing will be spared. The male cub that survived was barely a year and even though cubs are normally weaned by 8 months, they are not independent of adults until 18 months and we therefore gave him zero chance to survive on his own.

Nosioki's male cub

Having mysteriously survived the lethal poison, the Lion Guardians have been on the lookout for him. His tracks have consistently been seen by our Lion Guardian Sitonik, but because he stayed on his own for so long we were still concerned for his future. Despite the fact that the elders banned poisoning in the area, our investigations revealed that another product called Red cat, which is used to eradicate rodents and is easily available in Kenya, has reportedly been used on cats to cause maximum death. It has also been tested by people in the area on dogs to deadly effect!

Sitonik with Nosioki's poisoned daughter

As a result of the on-going short rains, Osewan area has received a substantial amount of rain, causing an influx of both livestock and people. Lion Guardians were instructed to be extra vigil. A few days ago, Sitonik reported seeing clear tracks of Pua, who was the male in Nosioki’s pride, with a cub moving away from the area towards the hills. This is a very important revelation because the male cub will now stand a better chance of survival under the custody of his father than on its own! We will continue to keep you updated on his progress.

Pua

My fears have now been validated. I regret to inform you that Nosioki, our motherly female lioness is no more! A few days ago, I wrote about the lion-livestock conflict in Osewan. This area has been of great concern to the Lion Guardians given the fact that it is just outside of Lion Guardian zones, on a neighboring Group Ranch, where the environment is rife with conflict. Lions have consistently been killing livestock in this thick area which was acting as a sanctuary for both livestock and wildlife. However, yesterday, 7 weak sheep that usually graze nearby got lost. They were found dead having been killed by hyenas based on the pattern of the killing. The carcasses were then laced with a white substance that is known to originate from Tanzania.

Poisoned sheep carcass

In the early hours of the morning, Nosioki and her cubs came across the carcasses and ate. The first female cub died instantly and our Lion Guardians found her and reported it immediately.

Lion Guardian Sitonik with Nosioki's dead cub

As they were relaying the information to us, Nosioki was kicking and taking her last breath. We found her dead shortly thereafter. Two vultures that had been perched on top of a nearby tree, later dropped dead, as well as countless flies. We assembled all the sheep, vultures and lion carcasses and burned them in order to prevent anymore death.

Sitonik with Nosioki

One male cub was still alive in the thicket and he ran away from us as we approached, a sign of being alert. Pua Mederi, the big male lion in the pride was fortunately not around and the cub might have been lucky. Our Lion Guardians are out today to look for his signal. However, with the male cub being barely a year, his fate is almost certain to be over.

The picture of Nosioki with her head facing down was clearly a sight to behold! I have never seen anything like this before. This was not just another lion to me. It was Nosioki, an individual that has been known to us for the last two years. She was part of the pride of Eselenkei community and owing to her good reputation of not killing livestock she was well liked. However, recently, since moving to a new area less tolerant of wildlife in general and predators in particular, she developed a trait of being a constant livestock killer.

Sitonik and Eric with Nosioki

Personnel from Kenya Wildlife Service later joined us but did not take any action saying the area is out of their Amboseli jurisdiction. The culprit is well known so we urge that action be taken against him- The killing has to stop. Without any action being taken against the culprit, many predators will disappear since this is the fourth lion to be killed in the area. Already, the future of Amboseli National Park hangs in the balance as animal migratory corridors and dispersal areas are being sold off. Add this to a continuous and systematic decimation of the dwindling lion population due to poisoning across the border in Tanzania and on the outlying Group Ranches, the fear of Amboseli becoming one big dust bowl will soon be real. God forbid!

Lion Guardians urgently need  your help and support to expand into this critical area. Please take a few minutes to make a donation now, and help the Lion Guardians protect other lions from the same fate of Nosioki and her cubs.

We are very excited!  We have just confirmed the 7^th set of cubs under 6 months old within Lion Guardian areas!!!! That means that every adult female in our study area is currently with offspring! We’ve never documented such an occurrence before. It seems there is a lot of hope for the future!!!
Here is the breakdown: Nemasi has 3 small cubs about 6 months old, Mbalueni also has 3 small ones of the same age, Elikan has 2 five month olds, and Birdie, who lost the cubs we blogged about earlier this year to infanticide, now has new cubs as well! Also, Birdie’s two adult daughters, Nanyorri and Nembirbil, each have small cubs about 2 months old.

Even Selenkay has 3 one month old cubs stashed away right on the border of three group ranches. Selenkay is staying with the her small cubs, her two 18 month old  female cubs (recently named Neeki and Meoshi by the Lion Guardians), the new cubs’ father, Ndelie, and her sister Elikan. This group is moving between southern Eselenkei and western Mbirikani.

Neeki, Selenkay, Ndelie and Elikan

Lioness Nimaoi doesn’t have small cubs but she’s still with her two 20 month old cubs, a male named Len’gan’ga and a female named Neluai. Nimaoi is a favorite of males Kasaiyo and Lormanie so it shouldn’t be too long before she too may have some new cubs herself! Also, lioness Nosioki has 3 older cubs, but she is in a northern thick forested area called Osewan which is very difficult to access so we’ve been unable to see her for many months, but the Lion Guardians have been finding her tracks along with those of her cubs and the cubs’ father Pua Mederi. Lioness Nempakai also has 2 young cubs, but she has moved out of Lion Guardian areas and into the safety of Amboseli National Park.

You can check out Selenkay, Birdie, Ndelie and Nempakai’s movements at Abycats lion map.

Abycats Lion Movement Map

You can see that the lionesses go out hunting every night, but always return to a central location. This is where the cubs are hidden away, while their mamas go hunting and looking for water.

We now have our work set out for us!  Our big challenge will be to try to keep the adult population as stable as possible – if any females are killed, we will lose their cubs as well. These cubs are dependent on their mothers for several years to help them learn how to hunt and protect themselves. Since we don’t have prides, there aren’t aunties around to help raise the cubs if the mothers are killed. Also, if any males are killed, this may result in new movements of males, which may lead to more cub infanticide which we saw earlier this year between Birdie’s young cubs and Sikiria.

A lioness unsuccessfully trying to protect her cubs ©Sara Blackburn

LG Mushaga finding lions

The Lion Guardians are out there every day keeping track of the lions’ locations and helping prevent depredations and killings from occurring.  In order for this population to grow – these lion cubs are going to have to survive for at least another one and a half to two years. We need your support to help keep the Lion Guardian project running.  Please make your donation today.  Every little bit helps keep the Lion Guardians on the ground, monitoring and protecting these lions. We will keep you posted as all these new cubs grow and begin to explore the world around them!

After receiving reports of lion tracks from our lion guardians, our team went to verify. Upon reaching the site of the tracks, we did call-in and awaited with excitement. After a brief period of silence, we heard some little meows that grew louder as time went by. It was clear that whichever lion was approaching, they had small cubs. The anticipation grew palpable amongst our team members.

Eventually, when the lions came close to us, we were able to instantly identify them as Birdie’s pride. Birdie had three small cubs! She was accompanied by the other members of her pride [2 sub-adult females and a sub-adult male]. We were very happy that 3 more potential members of our little lion population have been brought forth. They were close to the thicket in Oltiasika. This is an ideal place because of its proximity to water and it is preferred by many lion prey species.

Birdie with her cubs

A few weeks earlier, on Valentine’s day, we found our well travelled lion Sikiria  seriously mating with one of Birdie’s sub-adult females. They seemed to have formed a common bond just at the right time and place and were completely inseparable. We left them on their own to continue with their ‘serious reproductive work’ hoping that Sikiria will eventually settle in one particular area and start his own pride.

Sikiria spending quality time with Birdie's daughter

Sikiria making his move...

Hi, this is Eric.

Recently we told you the news that two young male lions had been spotted by Lion Guardian Lenkina in the same area that Mbeuti and her cubs used to live in. After the sad spearing of Mbeuti by the new age-set of morans back in March, her two 13-month old male cubs escaped unhurt, but many predicted their death owing to their young age. Here they are back with their mother, before the sad event.

However we are now pretty sure that they have defied all the odds and have survived! This must be largely due to the good care their mother gave them before she met her fate. Since the spearing, these cubs moved from place to place, far and wide, in search of their mother, but to no avail. The pangs of hunger were biting hard, they knew they must kill to survive but did not know how. And here they are!

It turns out that during the months of March and April they terrorized more than 10 bomas, killing goats and injuring donkeys but eating none, as they were chased away by angry owners. They even survived many attempted attacks themselves! At the height of the conflicts, the Lion Guardians in conjunction with other stakeholders, managed to stop 3 more lion hunts, all caused in retaliation for livestock killed by these two cubs. It seems they had some close escapes, and since then have never again killed livestock – perhaps they have learnt their lesson! We certainly hope so.

A few days ago, we got another report of two young lion tracks around the same area that Mbeuti and her cubs used to patrol. We summoned our team of reputable trackers! Upon finding the tracks, many thought they might be a female and a cub, as one was slightly bigger than the other. But as soon as I saw them, I knew they were familiar tracks! These tracks surely belonged to Mbeuti’s cubs.

At their age, they have defied all predictions to survive for the last three months. Now I hope they can continue to grow big and handsome like Maringa and Pua, and avoid livestock and people. The Lion Guardians will do their best to enable this to happen.

Yesterday we received a report from Lion Guardians Meingati and Lentooma in northern Olgulului, that they had found the tracks of two lionesses together with a set of very small tracks. With their tracking equipment they picked up the signal of the collared lioness Nempakai, who often visits Amboseli National Park, and when we drove to the area we were able to track Nempakai down to an area near the border of the park and Olgulului Group Ranch. And what a fantastic sight greeted us!

The Lion Guardians tracking skills were perfectly accurate. Nempakai was with another lioness, and a very sweet little cub!

The cub was very playful and having a great time stalking mum and practising her prey killing by biting mum’s neck!

It was a lovely sight to behold and we are very glad to share it with you too!